The Vatican No. 2 led faithful in a somber night-time prayer on Monday as Pope Francis continued to battle pneumonia in both lungs at a hospital in Rome.

The Vatican carried on with its Holy Year celebrations without the pope Saturday, as Pope Francis battled pneumonia and a complex respiratory infection that doctors say remains touch-and-go and will keep him hospitalized for at least another week.

Doctors say pneumonia in such a fragile, elderly patient makes him particularly prone to complications given the difficulty in being able to effectively expel fluid from his lungs

Doctors say pneumonia in such a fragile, elderly patient makes him particularly prone to complications given the difficulty in being able to effectively expel fluid from his lungs

The Vatican late Thursday reported a “slight improvement” in his overall clinical condition, with his heart working well.

According to the one-line morning bulletin Friday, “The night went well, this morning Pope Francis got up and had breakfast.” Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14 after a case of bronchitis worsened;

Doctors say pneumonia in such a fragile, elderly patient makes him particularly prone to complications given the difficulty in being able to effectively expel fluid from his lungs

Vatican officials said that Pope Francis had developed pneumonia in both lungs, further complicating the pontiff's recovery.

The Pope is sitting upright and receiving therapy for double pneumonia, the Vatican said, as Argentines, Romans and others kept up a steady stream of prayers for his recovery. Francis remains in a critical condition but the Holy See machinery ground on,

Pope Francis was sitting upright and receiving therapy for double pneumonia Wednesday, the Vatican said, as Argentines, Romans and others kept up the steady stream of prayers for his recovery.

The Vatican’s Tuesday noon bulletin contained a series of significant decisions, most importantly that Francis had met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin